3 . As consumers, we are very wasteful. Annually, the world generates 1.3 billion ions of solid waste. This is expected to go up to 2.2 billion by 2025. The developed countries are _________for 44% of waste, and in the U.S. alone, the average person throws away their body weight in rubbish every month.

Traditional wisdom would seem to suggest that companies have no interest in_________the life cycle of their products and reduce the revenue (营收)they would get from selling new goods._________, more and more businesses are thinking about how to reduce consumer waste. This is_________ driven by the rising price of raw materials and metals. Also, both consumers and companies becoming more aware of the need to protect our environment is another force that contributes.

When choosing what products to buy and which brands to buy from, more and more consumers are looking into sustainability, which is_________ just price and performance they were concerned about in the past. In a survey of 54 of the world's leading brands, almost all of them reported that consumers are showing increasing care about environmental lifestyles. At the same time, surveys on consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. show that they also care about _________ energy use and reducing waste.

_________, consumers control what happens to a product. But some companies are starting to realize that placing the burden of recycling entirely on the consumer is not an effective strategy, especially when_________something seems like the easiest and most convenient option.

Some retailers and manufacturers in the clothing, footwear, and electronics industries have launched _________programs, They want io make their customers interested in __________ their products and preventing things that still have value from going to the landfill. By offering services to help expand the longevity of their products, they're promising quality and __________ to consumers, and receiving the__________ gains for being environmentally friendly and socially responsible.

Enormous opportunities also__________e-waste. It is estimated that in 2014 the world produced some 42 million metric tons of e-waste (discarded electrical and electronic equipment and its parts) with North America and Europe accounting for 8 and 12 million metric tons __________. The materials from e-waste include iron, copper, gold, silver, and aluminum-materials that could be reused, resold, recovered, or recycled. Together, the value of these metals is estimated to be about $52 billion. Electronics giants like BestBuy and Samsung have provided e-waste __________programs over the past few years, which aim to refurbish (翻新)old electronic components and parts into new products.

Landslide Injures at least 10 in Norwegian Town of Ask

A landslide (山体滑坡) has smashed into a residential area near the Norwegian capital at midnight on Dec. 30. injuring at least 10 people, leaving 21 unaccounted for and     1    (destroy) several homes, authorities said.

About 700 people have been brought to safety for fear of further landslides.

The landslide cut across a road, leaving a deep gap that cars     2    not pass. Video footage showed dramatic scenes including one house falling into the gap. Photographs showed at least eight destroyed homes.

Rescue workers continued to search the area for children and adults     3    (believe) to have been caught in mud and debris (废墟), police said. "We're still looking for survivors? police spokesman Roger Pettersen told a news conference.

Pettersen said there were no reports of missing people, but officials could not rule out the possibility     4     there might be survivors in collapsed buildings. He said 21 people registered as living in the area are unaccounted for.

One of the injured was seriously hurt, while nine had     5    (light) injuries. Weather at the time was reported to be challenging, with snowstorm sweeping the village of Ask,     6    about 5,000 people inhabited.

Norway's King Harald said the landslide had made a deep impression on him. "My thoughts are with all those who are affected, injured or have lost their homes and those who now live in fear and uncertainty of     7     damage the disaster has caused,” he said in a statement released by the royal palace.

The area in which Ask     8    (locate) is known to have a lot of quick clay, which can change from solid to liquid from. Previous landslides have been reported in the region.

Helicopters continued to circle over the area as night fell     9     (lower) rescuers towards the debris of collapsed houses.

"There could be people trapped ... but at the same time we can't be sure       10     it is the new year’s holiday, which means people could be elsewhere,” Ema Solberg, the Norwegian Prime Minister, told reporters after visiting the site.

7 . California Preps for Fire Season

WINDSOR, Calif—Grass and other vegetation have begun to cover the ash left behind when the largest blaze of the 2019 wildfire season burned the edge of this Northern California town about four months ago.

    1     Unlike in other dangerous California blazes, including 2018's Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, first responders were able to focus entirely on the firefight rather than last-minute rescues.

“It's not an accident that Windsor got saved,” Mayor Dominic Foppoli said. “We went through 2017. We watched it happen again in Paradise.”

    2     The state's wet winter months have become a critical time for officials and residents hoping to protect themselves from a fire season that starts earlier and ends later than ever Some are organizing mass-evacuation drills and hosting events to help businesses and residents design emergency plans.     3     In Northern California, the communities of Orinda, Moraga and Lafayette banded together to build a 19-mile fuel break meant to slow a disastrous blaze from spreading into neighborhoods from nearby hills.

Forecasters expect warmer and drier weather in California heading into spring, which could cause grasses to dry out and lead to an earlier than normal start to this year's fire season.    4    

"We have indicators that we're drying out already," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

8 . Dandelions

I remember as a young child bringing a bunch of brilliant yellow flowers to my mother. It didn’t matter that the stems felt sticky or that both my parents cursed the presence of these flowers in the lawn. I thought they were beautiful!

And there were so many of them! We spent hours picking the flowers and then popping the blossoms off with a snap of our fingers. But the supply of dandelions (蒲公英) never ran out. My father or brothers would chop off all the heads with the lawnmower (割草机) at least once a week, but that didn't stop these hardy wonders.

And for those flowers that escaped the honor of being hand-delivered to my mother or the sharp blades of the lawnmower, there was another level of existence. The soft roundness of a dandelion gone to seed caused endless laughter of delight as we unconsciously spread this flower across the yard.

As I worked in my garden last week, pulling unwanted weeds out of the space that would become a haven for tomatoes, corn, peas and sunflowers, I again marveled at the flower that some call a weed.

And I thought, if only I had the staying power of a dandelion. If only I could stretch my roots so deep and straight that something tugging on my stem couldn’t separate me completely from the source that feeds me life. If only I could come back to face the world with a bright, sunshiny face after someone has run me over with a lawnmower or worse, purposely attacked me in an attempt to destroy me. If only I could spread love and encouragement as freely and fully as this flower spreads seeds of itself.

The lawns at my parents' home are now beautiful green blankets. The only patches of color come from well-placed, well-controlled flowerbeds. Chemicals have managed to kill what human interference couldn’t. I hope you and I can be different. I hope that we can stretch our roots deep enough that the strongest poison can't reach our souls. I hope that we can overcome the poisons of anger, fear, hate, criticism and competitiveness.

Population Change of European Birds

The breeding bird populations in Europe have seen a great shift over the past three decades, driven by both climate crisis and human interferences, according to one of the world’s largest citizen science projects on biodiversity.

Overall, 35% of birds increased their breeding range. Dr. Iván Ramírez, senior head of conservation at BirdLife Europe and central Asia, said: “Those birds that have been legally protected have been doing better than those which are not protected. This is a really important message within the European Union. We have one of the oldest policies – the Birds Directive – and we can prove that it works.”

In addition, as the climate warms, forests are stretching into northern and agricultural regions. In parts of northern Europe, there has also been tree planting (mainly for wood and paper) and land abandonment (specifically in Mediterranean areas), which benefited many woodland species such as woodpeckers and warblers but caused damage to a number of other species as well. The research shows a total of 25% of birds now occupy a smaller area.

Generally, farmland birds are bigger losers, suffering overall declines in population and reduced distribution because agricultural intensification means there is less food, such as insects and remainder from harvesting. The State of Nature in the EU 2013-2018 assessment showed 80% of key habitats were in poor or bad condition, and intensive farming is a major driver of decline. The UK’s farmland birds have declined by 55% since 1970.

“Predictably, there are winners and losers. We can see how some species have expanded across the continent rapidly and have begun to colonize UK wetlands. In contrast, we can see ranges shrinking as species of northern Europe feel the impact of climate change, and species such as the dotterel are declining in numbers and range in northern Britain,” he said.

10 . Elephants have four distinct personalities that help their herd survive in the African bush, scientists have found.

With their grey skin, mournful eyes and slow heavy pace, you could be forgiven for thinking elephants are uniformly blue creatures. But scientists have now discovered the largest living land animals have personalities to match their size. In a new study of African elephants, researchers have identified four distinct characters that are common in a herd -- the leaders, the gentle giants, the playful rogues and the reliable plodders.

Each of the types has developed to help the giant mammals survive in their harsh environment and is almost unique in the animal kingdom, according to the scientists. Professor Phyllis Lee and her colleague Cynthia Moss studied a herd of elephants in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya known as the EB family - famous for their matriarch Echo before she died in 2009. Using data collected over 38 years of watching this group, the researchers analyzed them for 26 types of behaviors and found four personality features tended to emerge.

The strongest personality to emerge was that of the leader. Unlike other animals, where leadership tends to be won by most dominant and aggressive individual, the elephants instead respected intelligence and problem solving in their leader. Echo, the matriarch and oldest in the group, her daughter Enid, and Ella, the second oldest female, all emerged as leaders.

The playful elephants tended to be younger but were more curious and active. Eudora, a 40-year-old female in the herd, seemed to be the most playful, consistently showing this trait through out her life while playfulness in some of the other elephants declined with age.

Gentle elephants, which included two 27-year-old females Eleanor and Eliot, caressed and rubbed against others more than the others.

Those that were reliable tended to be those that were most consistent at making good decisions, helped to care for infants in the herd and were calm when faced with threats. Echo and her youngest daughter Ebony seemed to be the most reliable. Professor Less said that elephants with these features tended to be the most socially integrated in the group while those who tended to be pushy and less reliable were more likely to split from the herd.